Late in the afternoon, the people's market along the industrial park was still crowded with people. The sound of goods ordering, the sound of knives and cutting boards squirming, the sound of buyers and sellers jostling each other under the faded tarpaulin roofs.
Amidst that crowd, Mr. Nguyen Van Tung (37 years old, a worker in Phu Tho) stood staggering in front of the meat stall, in his pocket there was only one 50,000 VND bill that his wife gave him from home.
Before leaving, Ms. Lan (his wife) said half-jokingly: "Go to the market to buy things, cook a meal of 3 dishes like online. 50,000 VND is enough".
After she finished speaking, she laughed. And he, with the confidence of someone who has long thought that cooking is just a simple matter, also laughed along: "If you can do it, I can too.
Only when standing in front of the meat stall, looking at the seller placing a small piece of pork belly on the scale and quoted the price "80,000 VND, honey", did he realize how reckless his words were a few hours ago.
At that time, I really froze. The tiny piece of meat was almost twice the amount of money I held in my hand. Suddenly, I found the problem of 50,000 VND, 3 dishes, with vegetables, with soup, with meat... much more difficult than I imagined," Mr. Tung recounted.
The story started from cooking clips flooding social networks.
His wife is a loyal fan of videos like "50,000 VND meal", "3 filling dishes for a small family". Watching a lot becomes familiar, she also wants her husband to try to step into the math problem that she still silently solves every day.
Arriving at the market, Mr. Tung was still full of excitement. But the further he went, the slower his steps became. The bunch of water spinach was still easy to buy, a few tomatoes were not too expensive, but as soon as he thought of a decent savory dish, the money in his hands immediately became cramped.
Giving up meat means the main dish of the meal is lost. Buying meat means there is no money left for vegetables and soup. Holding exactly 50,000 VND, he went from stall to stall, feeling both funny and embarrassed.
Normally when I go with my wife, I just carry things, many times I think she must have calculated too carefully. That day I went by myself and then I realized, to have enough for a meal for the whole family, every penny must be weighed up and down," he said.
Finally, he chose a bunch of vegetables, some tomatoes, a few cartons of tofu and a few eggs.
There is no beautiful meal tray like the video clips of only a few dozen seconds on the phone.
But that was the result of nearly half an hour of struggling in the market and for the first time he understood the feeling of having to save money for a family meal.
That evening, on the small dining table in the rented room, a simple tray of rice was served with tomato-soaked beans, fried eggs and a bowl of vegetable soup. Fortunately, there was still a little meat and broccoli that my mother-in-law had given me the day before, just a little more meat for the children to eat.
Ms. Lan looked at the tray of food and laughed when she heard her husband tell the story of standing stunned in front of a 80,000 VND sticky rice ball.
Then the young wife also slowed down her voice. She said that many times when watching "50,000 VND meal" videos, she herself feels pressure.
On the internet, everything is always neat and full, but in real life, food is priced differently from place to place, each meal is different, it is not always possible to squeeze it into a beautiful number like on the screen.
A 50,000 VND bill, after all, not only makes the young husband "disillusioned" in the late afternoon market.
It also helps him understand that behind the meals that still regularly appear on the table every night is a lot of silent effort of the fire-keeper in the house.
